Carson Recreation Supervisor Janny Noa – A Champion for Park Equity

Janny Noa serves as the Senior Recreation Center Supervisor at James M. Foisia Park in Carson, California. In a conversation with Joseph Fa’avae, a contributing writer for Island Block Radio, she discussed the significance of park equity, the development of recreational spaces, and the essential role of inclusivity for all residents—highlighting the benefits it brings to families.

Island Block Radio: What could we do or what are we doing to build greater park equity in LA?

Janny Noa: “So the key is you need a proper leader in the recreation department of the county or the city that has a vision. Someone who is pro-park. In other words, someone who believes there should be parks for every person in the community, and the way you think about it is, if I can walk there or I can ride a bike there, then that’s a good enough distance to have a park. However, if I have to drive there, then the chances of me going to that park are going to be very, very slim. So that’s what happened in the City of Carson. We had a Parks and Rec Director years ago named Howard Homan, and you’ll see his name on all sorts of plaques throughout the City of Carson. He had a vision that we needed to put a park in every neighborhood where people can walk to or maybe ride their bike to if need be. But if they had to drive, most likely they were not going to go to that park. I don’t know if you notice, there are a lot of parks in Carson, but that’s what we need to do to have greater park equity.”

IBR: How does the current park funding allocation prioritize historically underserved neighborhoods?

JN: “It’s going to come from the community itself as what they request. So the louder the people speak, the more the dignitaries will offer. For example, if South Carson wanted to have more pools, then you’ll hear from their residents, and they’ll speak up on it at the city council meetings. The constituents would need to speak up and really demand it from their elected officials, because the elected officials are supposed to be listening to what their constituents need and want. And then they go and do surveys. The staff is responsible for going out and doing research, like what the costs are, and then figuring out what type of traffic will result from building such an amenity. For example, we had a skate park built over at the Veterans Park. It wasn’t until the local youth said, ‘We want a skate park.’ So the adults that were part of that committee, the youths’ parents, researched the details and brought them to the council. They made the point that there isn’t a skate park within a 10-mile radius. The constituents have to speak up and demand what they want in their own neighborhood, but also have to provide facts. They have to be detailed so the elected officials know how to properly direct funds towards things that they hear from their residents.”

IBR: Are there disparities in maintenance budgets for parks in low-income vs. affluent areas?

JN: “Of course, there are, because in well-off areas, you probably can get the nicer pieces of equipment, maybe nicer playgrounds, higher-end with more covering on their playgrounds. There’s a disparity because these parks probably have a bigger budget. There’s probably more taxes being paid in that city because their residents are willing to not only pay taxes but also donate, or maybe they have higher property value, so therefore the more income that comes in, there’s potentially more money to be spent and budgeted for various things in the city like parks and recreation.”

IBR: What strategies address “park deserts” in high-density, low-income areas with limited land?

JN: “Well, the California Parks and Recreation Commission is a club that many professionals are members of. CPRC provides different ideas to various cities. Some cities utilize unused land. For example, utilizing some of the center islands on the road. I’ve seen cities turn those into walking parks or even dog parks. Another example is land under large electrical towers; they’ll build parks underneath that. But it’s not going to be parks with swings or anything like that. It’s more like walking in parks or nature parks. So parks and recreation, their goal is to find any unusable space to create a park-like area because we believe the more you have recreational spaces for the community it increases people’s lives. It brings a more positive impact to anybody in all communities whenever you have some type of recreational space. There’s a lot of statistics and studies on how having more recreational space improves residents’ lives.”

IBR: How are park designs incorporating cultural relevance for diverse communities (e.g., murals, multi-generational spaces, community gardens)?

JN: “Foisia Park is the only park that I’ve seen that happen. For some reason, the contractor decided that, since it’s named after a Samoan, they would include some cultural designs. So that’s why it’s so unique. You don’t see that in any other park in the city. So, the various architectural designs on the outside stage they’re going to be put with various palm leaves. They’re going to put a tropical style color scheme on the borders as well as different parts of the poles and so forth. The contractors are making it more of a brown and yellow color way. I haven’t heard of any park that has built something like that where it’s geared towards a specific culture, except for Foisia Park. So they’re going to have some Samoan design on the bottom of the seating area by the playground. It’s also going to include word work palm tree designs on the poles. The landscape will have tropical plants in the area to give it a more tropical island feel.”

IBR: How does the city address gentrification risks when improving parks in vulnerable neighborhoods?

JN: “One example would be, if a new apartment complex were being built, the owner is supposed to earmark 5% of its profits to go towards the improvement of local parks that are being used by its residents.”

IBR: Are park advisory boards demographically representative of their communities?

JN: “Yes, we have a parks and recreation board that is made up of residents of Carson. There’s a mixture of people from Caucasians, Hispanics, African-Americans, Filipinos, but I haven’t seen a Pacific Islander serve on the board yet.”

IBR: What specific policies (e.g., zoning, joint-use agreements) most effectively mandate equitable park development?

JN: “For example, the city can’t just build a gymnasium over here on the west side of Carson because they already have two gymnasiums, one at Carson Park and the other at Veterans Park. I’m sure there’s a policy that the department has in terms of maintaining which park should be getting improvements. So as you know, we have Carriage Crest Park under construction as well as Foisia Park. The city chose those facilities because they are two of the oldest parks in Carson. The city really tries to make it equal across the city so each park has the same number of pools, gymnasiums, playgrounds, baseball diamonds, and basketball courts. I’m sure the city uses it as a guideline to have an equal amount of amenities at each park citywide.”

IBR: How transparent is data on park spending, amenities, and usage across neighborhoods?

JN: “The data is very transparent because you could review budget numbers. It’s transparent in terms of the total dollars that are listed on the City of Carson website. It is public information; the data shows the amount of staff payroll across the city. The data also shows how much money is earmarked towards citywide special events and projects. The minutes of city council meetings are made open to the public because they disclose everything that was approved, like the project for Foisia Park, which earmarked $2.4 million of the budget.”

IBR: Okay, any last comments on how we can improve park equity in LA?

JN: “We can always improve park equity. I know it always comes down to funding, which is unfortunate. I believe the more parents get involved and speak up for what they want for their kids’ needs, the change will happen. The community needs to speak up more for their kids to get the changes they want.”